According to “The psychology of collecting” By Mark B. McKinley, Ed.D.January 1, 2007″

“Everybody collects something. Whether it be photographs of a person’s vacation, ticket stubs from ballgames, souvenirs of trips, pictures of one’s children, athletes’ trophies, kids’ report cards or those who collect “junk” (pack-rats) and dispose of it in garage sales.

During the 1700s and 1800s, there were aristocratic collectors, the landed gentry, who roamed the world in search of fossils, shells, zoological specimens, works of art and books. The collected artifacts were then kept in special rooms (“cabinets of curiosities”) for safekeeping and private viewing. A “cabinet” was, in part, a symbolic display of the collector’s power and wealth. It was these collectors who established the first museums in Europe, and to a lesser extent in America…

Why do we collect things, e.g., Cracker Jack toys to manhole covers? Some people collect for investment, yet one must wonder how a penny can become worth thousands of dollars. Some collect for pure enjoyment – it’s fun. Some collect to expand their social lives, attending swap meets and exchanging information with like-minded souls.

And still other folks collect to preserve the past, but there can be a risk here. Medical scientists and anthropologists collected human remains for the purpose of a study. Yet the courts have been called into the fray as to who is the proper “owner” of the past, e.g., the Kennewick Man – archaeologists legally fight to study the bones, whereas, Native Americans legally fight to bury them.

For some people collecting is simply the quest, in some cases a life-long pursuit that is never complete. Additional collector motivations include psychological security, filling a void in a sense of self. Or it could be to claim a means to distinction, much as uniforms make the “man.” Collections could be a means to immortality or fame vis-a-vis Dr. Louis Leakey.”

Chinese antique jades contain colorful and exquisite of craftsmanship, artistic and philosophical cultural substances. Furthermore, the texture of jade gives a wonderful feeling when you touch it. The colorful appearance of the antiquity of jade gives you unlimited imagination. The different carving styles of different periods challenge your understanding of ancient Chinese craftsmanship. It is definitely a joy to collect antique Chinese jades.

The elegance of Chinese jade will be rediscovered if jade enjoyment can be matched with the final purpose to establish a harmonious society by following the virtues of jade.

Lapels are the folded flaps of cloth on the front of a jacket. According to Xian Wen of The Analects, “But for Guan Zhong, we should now be wearing our hair unbound, and the lapels of our coats buttoning on the left side.” (論語．憲問：「微管仲！吾其被髮左衽矣！」)In this record, lapel is always cross right in central China, while lapel is always cross left in areas outside central China from the Zhou Dynasty. Furthermore, it is postulated that dresses wearing on the occasions preying to Deities always have lapels cross right, no matter the actors are priests or dancing ladies. Some antique jades have cross left lapels for women, we assume that women wearing cross left lapels are for daily life, while women wearing cross right lapels are for the occasions preying to Deities.

本件貔貅兩側施翼, 頭頂呈現一角, 張嘴露齒吐舌. 呈匍匐狀, 四肢張力十足, 尾巴拉長盤桓地上, 讓人產生神秘的感覺.古玉跡象為差異風化, 擴散暈沁色及溶蝕孔. Carved with white jade, the object is a pixie with wings on both sides. With an open mouth, the tongue is stretched out and teeth are sharp. The pixie is crouching on the ground showing mighty legs and curling tail. Antiquity evidence includes differential weathering, dissolved pits, and calcification.